G-d forbid, but let's say that my house catches fire either on Shabbos or a Yom Tov. Can I call 911 or must I find a non-Jewish neighbor to call? We have an eruv. Can I take my car keys, cell phone ...

Suppose there is an halachically prescribed, commonly-practiced action, which has been demonstrated scientifically to lead to death of the action's object and/or subject with a certain low probability ...

A beam is going to fall on top of two people. When it does so, its weight will be distributed evenly over their two heads, injuring both but not killing either. Had that weight been distributed over ...

In two Simaese twins where the first will definitely die soon, whereas the second has a chance of life if the first stops being a 'drain' him. Like if there is only one heart. Can one kill the first ...

Is it permissible to be mechalel Shabbos to save the life of an animal, such as a family pet?
Could minchag, chumras, and/or purely Rabbinical prohibitions be relaxed in such a situation, and to what ...

There is a famous story (mentioned in his wikipedia article) that R' Elchonon Wasserman visited the United States before the war. He had the option to stay, but he refused since (as I heard) "A leader ...

if there are two patients about to die of kidney failure and there is only one kidney available, does the halacha have a way to choose who gets the kidney? (such as lottery)
(assuming both cases are ...

This question addresses whether it is a mitzvah to attempt to escape the death penalty if it is imposed by a Jewish court. The answer to this question seemed to be that it is not a mitzvah to attempt ...

Yaakov placed twelve stones around his head to protect him from animals. Why was he not scared that animals would attack the rest of his body and how would those small stones, which were small enough ...

If one is reasonably sure that he is about to die al kiddush Hashem does he make a blessing before fulfilling this mitzvah? What would the nusach (text) of this blessing be?
Note: I realize that even ...

Is the prohibition of swimming during the nine days because of an increased danger during the nine days or is it because of the fact that you cant bathe for pleasure during the nine days?
Or is it a ...

Is it permissible to sacrifice one's own life to save another?
There are many noble examples that come to mind, such as donating your heart to save a child or throwing yourself on a grenade. Is this ...

In this post, Skylar refers to teshuvos from the Seride Esh and R. AY Kook which rule that a male non-Jew may not convert if he is unable to undergo milah.
Does pikuach nefesh completely push off the ...

In an old MSNBC news story about Jack Lew, a Shabbat-observant Jew who was just appointed to be the new White House Chief of Staff, there's a story about his getting a call from President Clinton when ...

For example, what does Halacha say about the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange?
"Save" means "free from captivity," although in many cases it's the same thing as saving his\her life (e.g. if we didn't ...

I know that many commandments, e.g. keeping Shabbat, not lying, etc., must be violated if doing so is necessary to save a life.
For which commandments is this not true? Does it ever matter how many ...

Someone related this question at the s'udas Purim:
Haman's decree was promulgated on the 13th of Nisan and would not take effect until the 13th of Adar following. Yet, Mord'chay urged Ester to seek ...